Kolbaba wins PBR's first International Major in Québec City

QUÉBEC CITY, Québec – Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) went 3-for-3 to win the first event of the 2017 Monster Energy Tour at the Videotron Centre in Québec City, Québec.

Kolbaba began the night winning Round 2 after riding Time Bomb (K-C/Josie McElroy Bucking Bulls/Spark-lin Acres) for 87.5 points. The 21-year-old followed that with an 88.5-point ride aboard Pneu-Dart’s Doomsday (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) in the championship round to claim the buckle.

The event win is Kolbaba’s fourth this season. He has won two events on the elite Built Ford Tough Series, Little Rock, Arkansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour stop in Clovis, California.

For the win, Kolbaba earned $34,100 Canadian dollars and 300 points towards the world standings, moving him to No.3 in the world rankings. He now trails world leader Eduardo Aparecido by only 910 points and is the No.1 ranked rider in the PBR Canada national standings.

Hansen’s 2-for-3 performance earned him $8,300 Canadian dollars and 60 points towards the world standings, where he is now ranked No.47 after beginning the weekend at No.55. He is now the No.2 ranked rider in the PBR Canada national standings, trailing Kolbaba by 96.67 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas). Outlaw rode Gucci Galore (Bar D / Rawhide Rodeo) for 85 points in Round 2, but bucked off Well Hello (Mike Miller/Torres Bros) in the Championship Round. Outlaw earned $7,900 Canadian dollars and 45 points towards the world standings.

After opening in Québec City, the national series moves on to visit Ottawa on June 9; Toronto, June 24; Calgary, September 23; Winnipeg, October 6; Abbotsford, October 14; and Saskatoon, October 20 and 21, where a PBR Canadian champion will be crowned.

The PBR Monster Energy Tour will be showcased on TSN/RDS, including a post-season highlights show. Fans should check local listings for broadcast event dates and times.

Professional Bull Riders (PBR), which has events in five countries and is available in more than 400 million homes globally, has competed in Canada since 1996. The Monster Energy Canadian Tour debuted in 2016 as the country’s first national series. Points earned at Canadian events count towards qualification to the elite PBR Canadian Championship. Upon the conclusion of the Championship, the bull rider with the most regular season and Championship points is crowned the PBR Canada Champion. Points won at all Canadian events count toward qualifying on the prestigious PBR Built Ford Tough Series and PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB will be the first-ever Canadian host of the PBR Global Cup on November 9-11, 2017. The three-day event will feature the world’s best bull riders from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Australia, all competing for their country and a Canadian-record purse of $1,000,000, the second-largest payout in North America next to the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas. For more information on PBR Canada, go to www.pbrcanada.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pbrcanada and Twitter at http://twitter.com/PBRCanada.